This invention relates to a bottle opener. In its more specific aspect, this invention relates to a device or mechanism for removing a cork or stopper from a bottle such as a champagne bottle.
Bottles of champagne and sparkling wine are corked with a friction fit stopper, which today is customarily a plastic material. An extremely tight and secure fit or retention is necessary to prevent the pressurized gas from pushing out the stopper. Consequently, at the time of serving, one must exert considerable manual force and pulling, and even for a strong person, it is extremely difficult to remove the stopper by hand. Also, because of the internal pressure, caution must be exercised to prevent the cork from flying and possibly injuring someone nearby or causing property damage.
Aside from the long standing corkscrew, which is not at all useful for the new plastic corks in wide use today, a number of mechanical devices have been proposed for removing the stopper. Typically, the plastic stopper in common use today is of a generally cylindrical shape having smooth or ribbed side walls, and a downwardly facing annular shoulder. Many mechanical devices shown in the prior art for removing the plastic stopper utilize gripping jaws and a screw action, and some devices disclose means for positioning the device on the bottle for accurate gripping and removing of the stopper. For example, the corked bottle opener described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,295,392 to Peck has a base member for positioning the bottle, a retaining bracket to support the neck of the bottle, and a hinged corkscrew bracket. This device would not be useful for the typical plastic stopper in wide use today.
British Patent 1543, issued on June 21, 1864, though obviously designed for the conventional cork and long before plastic stoppers, might theoretically have utility for todays plastic stopper. According to the teachings of the British patent, there are two spaced apart jaws, lower jaw d that engages the neck of the bottle and upper jaw c that engages the shoulder of the cork. These jaws are forced apart (move in opposite directions) as the screw h is turned by handle f. This means that jaw d is forced downwardly onto the bottle, and jaw c is forced upwardly. This device presents several disadvantages. To operate the British opener, three hands are required. One hand is necessary to turn the screw; a second hand is reguired to hold the opener and bottle; and a third hand is required to hold the cork. If one holds the bottle only, as the handle is turned, the whole opener would rotate, and therefore it would not be possible to remove the stopper. Hence, it is necessary to hold the opener and bottle together. Further, the opener is of a fixed length, and therefore can be utilized with a bottle having a neck length that is within an average range because the jaws operate within a narrow range. Thus, the opener cannot fit a bottle with a very short neck, because the adjustment of the jaws is limited to the length of the screw. Similarly, if the bottle has a very long neck, the screw length would not be sufficient for the jaws to extend between the two positions. Also, the adjustable stopper remover of the jaw member shown in FIG. 8 of the British Patent requires two screws to be turned in opposite directions (one screw in front and one in back, with a vertical center-line shaft), which makes the operation of the opener cumbersome.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,800,345 to Feliz discloses an integral wire cutter and cork remover. The Feliz mechanism includes a yoke for engaging the bottle neck flange, and a clamp for gripping the cork. The clamp is affixed to a telescopically slidable column which is actuated for longitudinal movement by a screw. The bottle opener disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,422,355 to Burns also utilizes a clamping means for gripping the cork, and an axial turning movement is applied to the clamp by a screw to lift and remove and stopper.
The devices shown in the prior art, however, appear to have a complicated structure, are cumbersome to operate, or lack positioning and support means.
This invention, therefore, has as its primary purpose to provide a cork extractor that removes the cork from the bottle by a precision controlled, safe and easy means.
It is a further object of the invention to overcome the limitations of the prior art.
It is yet another object of the invention to provide a mechanism which is economical and of a relatively simple structure.